Lights In The Dark
by Forging Reality
Summary: Love isn't easy, especially in Gotham and especially for people with busy lives, dangerous lives. Still it can be something craved and given time it can be something that grows. That finds a way to weave it's tendrils around complicated lives. [Slow burn. Alfred x OC] [Harvey Bullock x OC]
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**_ _I honestly haven't written fanfiction for a long time. I decided though what the hell. I don't want to get too bogged down other sticking strictly to canon and what happens on the show, so there will of course be some mention of things that happen but I won't be including everything. This is fanfiction though so hey!_

 _Please enjoy!_

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 _ **Gotham; 10 years ago.**_

Evelyn Carter closed her eyes. Hands around the warm mug of cocoa she inhaled deeply. There was something comforting and familiar about its smell. Something that reminded her of home, even though she never really called any place in particular home.

Home is where the heart is they said, well Evelyn's heart was strewn all over the world. It was in friends she'd met along the way, in jungles and temples. In amazing sights, in beautiful sunrises and sunsets. She might be constantly drawn back to Gotham with its dark and gothic beauty but she'd never really call the place home.

Her flight had landed around three hours ago, she wasn't quite ready to get back into city living just yet though. Give her a real jungle over the urban jungle anyday. It was why she was so grateful to have nabbed an apartment near the park all those years ago, why she was glad to be a guest at the manor with its sprawling grounds.

She had driven around for a while, to get a feel of what had changed before she'd hopped out of the car having parked it up and started to walk. Gotham had barely changed in her year absence. Shops had open and shut, people had moved on, rich men had become poor and visa versa. Still Gotham was the same old underbelly. It was the same old breeding ground of crime and corruption.

It was late, or early depending on your viewpoint. Around 5am when she came upon Reg's Diner. It was relatively small and the patrons as far as Evelyn could tell were police officers just getting off shift. A few bums, what Evelyn suspected was a stripper and two young kids. The woman running the joint was a plump young woman who Evelyn had heard called Rosie.

Evelyn inhaled the steam coming off her hot chocolate again. She revelled in it, in the quiet busy of the cafe. Evelyn's eyes popped open, there was a noise outside drawing her attention. Men and women had pulled up on the opposite side of the street. Getting out of a black van. There was a familiar clicking sound and-

"GET DOWN!" Evelyn cried as a spray of bullets shattered the window and the neon sign of Reg's.

Screaming erupted from the children the bum and the stripper. Evelyn was down behind the counter in a moment as the other two police men over turned tables. One of the officers was badly hurt.

"Know how to shoot a gun?" Evelyn asked Rosie. The other woman swallowed hard, brow furrowing slightly. It was ridiculous to think that she owned a diner, specifically with cops in mind but she couldn't shoot. Rosie just wasn't a fan of guns. Never had been.

"I'll take that as a no. It's okay though. I'm going to get the kids over behind the counter. Can you get them out the back?" Evelyn asked Rosie.

"Yeah there's a door leads right onto the alley. There's a phone back there too. I'll call the cops." Rosie said as another bullet chipped a piece of counter.

"Good idea." Evelyn replied starting to pull something out of her satchel, which she'd hooked and dragged over with her foot.

"The hell are you doing with that?" Rosie suddenly interjected. "Who the hell are you." If this woman was the reason her cafe was being turned inside out, Rosie was going to be incredibly pissed off.

"Dont worry about this." Evelyn replied with what Rosie suspected was a small stick of dynamite between her teeth. She was routing through her jacket pockets for a moment before pulling out a lighter then a gun from beneath her jacket. "Stay down and out of sight." Evelyn nodded.

Rosie watched closing her eyes for a second as the other woman stood and began firing through the broken window before ducking back down. This woman was either incredibly stupid or had some kind of death wish. No one went up against criminals like that in Gotham except, well, other criminals.

Once Evelyn was across the other side of the room she found the patrons who weren't police officers looking terrified. Flinching every time a bullet came their way.

"Are you alright?" She asked noticing blood.

"My mom's hurt and I think that guys dead." The boy couldn't have been more than eight as he spoke up. There was shouting from outside now but Evelyn wasn't paying attention to it. A plain clothes detective was lying with four bullet wounds in him. Blood pooling all over the floor.

"Its my shoulder." The stripper replied through gritted teeth. "Pressure on it right?"

"Yeah, here this'll help." Evelyn replied, she pulled a table cloth throwing everything that had been atop it to the floor . There was more shouting from outside and another spray of bullets as Evelyn pressed a ball of tablecloth into the wound and then secured it with the other part of the tablecloth.

"Right, when this goes off-" Evelyn held the dynamite up and flicked at her lighter. It caught after a moment. The fuse beginning to burn down quickly. "Run."

"Are you insane!" Rosie shouted jumping up from behind the counter. She ducked quickly again as there was another spray of bullets. Evelyn meanwhile had crept closer to the shattered window Hands being cut as she crouched low and steadied herself. Evelyn waited until the fuse was almost at its peak before she threw the dynamite out of the window catching her arm on the broken glass and cursing loudly as it dug into her skin.

"Go!" Evelyn shouted as an explosion shook the street outside and the walls of the cafe. Then there was the sound of police cars.

...

"Seems to be taking a while today?" Thomas said from his seat next to Alfred in the front of the car. He was straining to see what was going on. The traffic started to move slowly then stilled again. The flashing lights, ambulances and fire engine all became apparent.

"That might be your answer sir." Alfred replied. "Probably some gang after another gang. Least the police are on sce-" before Alfred could finish his sentence though Thomas Wayne was out of the car and moving towards the scene.

"Sir- I don't think-" Alfred knew he couldn't just abandon the car in the middle of the street. So he pulled over, squeezing the car between two others and knowing full well the owner of the house would probably be incredibly disgruntled with the fact that someone had parked in their space.

When Alfred made his way through the crowd he found Thomas in conversation with a Auburn haired young lady. She was at least ten years Alfred's junior, wearing dirty and bloodied trousers and a brown leather jacket. There was something familiar about her but Alfred couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"That's mine." She said grabbing a hat from a passing police officers hands. She placed the fedora on top of her head with a grin. "You know me Tommy always attracting trouble." Alfred heard her say in a British accent, lip curling up at the corners into a mischievous smile.

"Did you really have to blow up half the street?" Thomas regarded her with arms folded. People around them were taking second glances at Thomas and Alfred stepped forward. Eyes all around.

"Hey- I was just trying to save everyone, well-" She tailed off as a body bag went past with the chard remains of a gun man inside.

"Thank you-" Thomas and the woman were interrupted as another woman approached them, she was being guided by two EMTs one of which had his hands pressed firmly over a wound on her shoulder. "-you saved us, the kids. I- I- just thank you." The woman was escorted towards an ambulance.

"You know, if you want to hear the whole story, sharing it over a bottle of your father's finest whiskey might do it. I always tell a better story when there's a drink in me." There was the cheeky smile back on her face again. She looked, Alfred thought, with the hat added on, like she was trying to imitate some of cinemas greatest adventurers. Indiana Jones and people of that calibre.

"I thought that's how you ended up in trouble?" Thomas asked shaking his head. "Ah, Alfred-" Thomas said noticing Alfred was there. "Alfred, this is Evelyn Carter. Evelyn, Alfred Pennyworth."

"Pleasure, miss." Alfred said holding out his hand. Evelyn shook it, Alfred noting that she had a good, strong, firm handshake. She was a woman who knew how to do business.

"Miss?" Evelyn looked over him clearly not used to being addressed in such a way. "Is this your driver?"

"Butler miss." Alfred replied before Thomas could.

"Right, well we can head back to the manor." Thomas clapped his hands together before Evelyn could say anything more. Her acknowledgement of Alfred being Thomas' butler had hinted she was about to tease him.

"How longs it been?" Thomas asked as they clambered into the car. This time he got into the back with her.

"A year, a year and four months I think. You tend to lose track of time out there. I missed Christmas, but I did get to celebrate some interesting festivals with local tribes." Evelyn replied. "That makes Bruce, what three?" she offered Thomas shook his head.

"Four."

"Four! Four! I can hardly believe it, this is good though he's just the right age to be susceptible to my bad influence."

"Evey you can't teach him any bad words?"

"Course I can, all the naughty ones are so much funnier when they come from toddlers."

"Martha would hit the roof."

"Martha could never stay mad at me for long." Evelyn grinned and Thomas looked genuinely worried that she was going to start teaching Bruce naughty words as soon as they got back to the manor. "Remember when I said the word twat in front of your friends little brother and he wouldn't stop repeating it." She laughed.

Alfred watched the two of them in the mirror as they descended into laughter and began imitating the way the child must have said it. Now he knew why she was familiar. He didn't know the exact connection, just that Evelyn had been a friend of Thomas' for a good long time. There were pictures strewn about Wayne manor featuring her. Mostly they were her and Thomas through various years and then when Martha had come along she was in the pictures too.

Alfred had never asked about her. It wasn't his place, he remembered the last time she'd visited he'd only caught a glimpse of her as she left on her next adventure. Which of course, now he thought about it, explained the get up.

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A/N; Enjoy it? Think I should do more? Want to see the story progress? Please review :)


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**_ _I honestly haven't written fanfiction for a long time. I decided though what the hell. I don't want to get too bogged down other sticking strictly to canon and what happens on the show, so there will of course be some mention of things that happen but I won't be including everything. This is fanfiction though so hey!_

 _Please enjoy!_

* * *

"Are you freakin' kiddin' me. Are you telling me that some chick with dynamite blew these guys to kingdom come?" Bullock groaned, running a hand over his face.

"We got a statement from her before she left, think she took off with Thomas Wayne."

"The chick carries dynamite around with her and you just let her wander off?" Harvey clenched his teeth before pulling out his hip flask and drinking deeply.

"We got a statement." The uni shrugged and flipped his pad over.

"Anyone know what these assholes were after?" Bullock asked.

"Owner said she heard a name being said-" The uni gestured over to Rosie who was stood handing out cups of coffee to the unis and EMT's that were around.

"Her business gets blown to shit and she's still handing out refreshments. Only in Gotham." Harvey muttered to himself. He straightened his jacket and made his way over to her, pocketing his hip flask.

"Detective Bullock, coffee? No Danishes at the moment." Rosie said cheerfully.

"You know for someone who just had their diner blown to shit you seem awful cheerful." Harvey said hand reaching out for the coffee.

"I knew this day would come, that's why I paid for insurance. I mean its not like I get a premium because cops frequent it." Rosie shook her head. "I didn't think it would go down like this though." Harvey noticed that she let out a shaky breath and he could tell despite all her bravado she was feeling it.

"Has anyone made you a coffee yet?" Harvey asked her sympathetically.

"I d- I don't need one. I'll be fine." There was a moment of silence as Harvey watched her watching the diner. He could tell this was going to hit her later on. Every cop in the precinct knew Reg's, best place to go after a long shift.

Rosie's dad had been a cop who'd opened the diner on his retirement. Cops were always welcome. Eventually Rosie took over. She'd been a home ec teacher at Gotham high, leaving that when her dad started to get too old to cope on his own. That's back when the diner had been called Jock's named after an old dog of Rosie's dads, the man, the myth, the legend; Reggie Everhart.

The diner burnt down in the Gotham riots five years earlier. During its reconstruction Reggie's heart gave out. Rosie carried on though and then renamed the place after her dad. She announced extra opening hours for cops getting off shifts. It was a safe heaven. Soft music. Good coffee and food all night.

"Uni said you heard a name?" Harvey pressed.

"I didn't just hear a name Detective Bullock. They were after Doyle. He's dead now so I guess they found him and got their revenge." Rosie shrugged. "I should have known, he was acting shifty all night. If he knew they were coming for him he could have gone somewhere else. Two people could have been spared." Rosie shook her head. She knew Gotham too well. She knew the corruption and the crime. Once upon a time she'd been optimistic and naïve about the GCPD, with age though had come experience.

"Wow, remind me never to come to you when I need comfort." Harvey grimaced.

"He knew what was going to happen. He should have gone to an alley rather than risk other people's lives." Rosie snapped, dark hair bobbing around her shoulders.

"He probably didn't think they'd shoot the place up." Harvey said quietly. Who was he kidding though Doyle had probably known they'd do just that, he was probably just too much of a coward to face things head on. Harvey couldn't blame him, he wouldn't have been running towards the bullets either.

"You know who they were working for?" Harvey asked gesturing to the chard remains of the van.

Rosie's arms were folded across her chest now and she just looked at him an eyebrow raised.

"Alright then." Harvey said flipping his notebook shut and turning to walk away from her. He got a few paces before he turned back. Rosie was around his age right? Maybe a bit younger. She was pretty hot by all accounts, nice ass, big hips a waist Harvey would love to get his hands on. "Hey Rosie? You got a place to stay tonight?" Harvey asked shooting her a mischievous grin.

"Really?" There was that eyebrow raised again, this time she shook her head and turned her back on him.

"Worth a shot." Harvey said to himself.

...,...

"What happened to whisky and me telling you that story?" Evelyn called after Thomas, they'd arrived back at the manor and Thomas had decided that he was going to work from home today. Firstly he was going to go back to bed though and have some more time with Martha. Evelyn had waggled her eyebrows at this.

"Later." Thomas replied. "I'm sure Alfred can show you where everything is."

"Certainly sir." Alfred replied hanging up his own coat before walking to the foot of the stairs and turning back to Evelyn with his arms crossed behind his back.

"Some welcome back." Evelyn muttered to herself running fingers through he hair, hand moving down across her face. "You going to show me where the good stuffs kept then?" Evelyn asked Alfred who had been looking up the stairs. "I mean if you want to go to bed, it's fine. He was kidding I can find my own way rou-"

"Bloody hell!" Alfred's exclamation cut her off and he was staring at her face.

"What?" Evelyn picked up a piece of silver and used it as a mirror. His alarm was understandable, there was blood smeared up the side of her face and it had wetted her hair. The cut wasn't on her face though and she looked down to find blood dripping from her hand. "Bollocks!" She groaned shrugging out of her jacket which had a long tear on the upper sleeve. The cream blouse beneath had blossomed crimson from shoulder to cuff. It had spread across her chest and torso creating a gruesome pattern.

"Looks worse than it is." She said pulling at the torn fabric.

"Maybe we should get you to a hospital miss?" Alfred offered.

"Well there's no need for that, there must be a sewing kit in this place somewhere right and at least one first aid box." Evelyn replied.

"I really don't think that's wise. Gotham general isn't too far, this time of night-" Alfred started.

"Yes, and it'll be full of drunks and lunatics. Nurses have got enough on their plates I can fix this here. No Gotham generals when you're half way up the mountain to Temple Mundungoo and some bastard stabs you in the back. Literally." Evelyn replied and honestly Alfred had to admit it if the shoe was on the other foot, and for something minor like this he'd probably have done the same but then he'd been a marine. He was a war dog. Not some scrappy young woman.

"Sewing kit it is then, and something strong to drink. Do you know your way to the kitchen?" He asked.

"Yes, it's probably one place Tommy wishes I didn't know the way to." She laughed, taking off for the kitchen. Alfred wrestled with his conscious a little as he disappeared to his room, Thomas and Martha would probably both have firm words with him if they found out that he'd just allowed Miss Carter to patch herself up. Then again he didn't know her well enough to simply insist, to argue. She was a guest after all and he wouldn't want to reflect badly on Martha or Thomas.

Alfred had gotten himself some medical supplies soon after he got the job. One could never be too careful. He kept them in the ensure to his room, in a small cupboard under the sink. Which also housed an extra hand gun taped to the inside of the cupboard. Old habits die hard and one could never be too careful.

"Oh you bastard!" Alfred heard her voice carry down the corridor and stepped into the kitchen closing the door behind him. She was stood at the large sink trying to wash the blood off. Alfred could see she had her fingers in the wound. She let out a pained sigh as she managed to pull a shard of glass free, dropping it into the sink with a clatter.

"Oh good, this stuff is definitely not strong enough." Evelyn shook a bottle of wine on seeing him.

"Would you like some help miss?" Alfred offered placing the whiskey and the medical kit on the table.

"Thanks, but this isn't like darning socks." Evelyn's reply was dismissive and Alfred had to remind himself that she didn't know about his past. Butler's, in general, probably didn't have much cause for stitching up anything but clothing.

"Oh well that is lucky miss, because I left the clothing sewing kit upstairs." The dry humour in his voice caused Evelyn to give Alfred another once over as he threaded a curved medical needle with thread.

"Alfred, do me a favour will you?" Evelyn asked and for a moment he assumed she was going to ask him to help her stitch the wound up which he was happy to do anyway. "Stop calling me Miss. I'm not a Miss, I'm Evey or Evelyn or Eve or Lyn, wait no not Lyn. I hate that. Makes me sound like a sixty year old."

"Right, Evelyn it is then." Alfred afforded her a smile, before pulling out a chair and gesturing for her to sit down. He busied himself in the sink for a moment before returning to sit close to her at the table. "This should be x-rayed you know. To make sure there's no more glass."

"I'm pretty sure there was only the one piece, maybe two." Evelyn unscrewed the top of whiskey bottle and poured it into two tumblers. She drank her first quickly before adding more amber liquid the glass.

"I haven't done this for a long time." Alfred admitted, drinking down his own whiskey. There seemed to have been a silent agreement between them that he was going to doing the stitching and yet, uncertainty wavered in his voice.

"I can do it myself. I've done it before." Evelyn was offering him a way out but Alfred wasn't about to take it.

"Oh I don't doubt it, from what I've heard from Master Wayne. Still wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to leave a lady in distress now would it."

Evelyn snorted a twinkle in her green eyes. Alfred couldn't tell if the short was intended towards the suggestion she was a lady of the suggestion she was in distress.

Alfred noted, as he worked that she had a very pretty smile and beautiful green eyes which put you at ease. Alfred imagined though, that those same eyes could just as easily frighten the living daylights out of a man.

"And here was I thinking chivalry was dead. Guess I've just been around the wrong sort of blokes." Evelyn took another swig of whiskey. "Which there are a lot of in my line of work. Especially the Americans."

"Well we all know what the bloody Americans are like." Alfred laughed as he cleaned the wound before pressing the needle into it and hearing her let out a gentle hiss.

"So, what actually did happen?" Alfred asked after a moment.

"For me to dislike Americans or you mean this?" She gestured to her arm and chuckled. "For the record, I don't hate Americans. I've had equal amount of terrible and brilliant interaction with them. As for this, I caught it on the glass when I was chucking the dynamite out of the window. Thought it would make them stop shooting."

"Certainly did that."

"I'm pretty upset about the jacket." Evelyn lamented after a moment. "You have got an actual sewing kit around haven't you? That's my lucky jacket."

"Lucky? Doesn't seem so lucky." Alfred pulled the needle through skin again and ensured the wound was closed.

"Well I didn't get shot did I?" Evelyn quipped.

"That you didn't mis- Evelyn."

...

"Oh bugger off!" Four year old Bruce Wayne swatted at a fly that was buzzing around the picnic blanket where he was lay on his belly drawing.

His exclamation caused Thomas, Martha and Evelyn to immediately pause in their conversation. Evelyn was immediately fighting back laughter. Thomas seemed caught between anger and humour. Martha's head had snapped around to Bruce.

"Bruce, what did you say?"

"I told the fly to bugger off because it's bothering me." Bruce replied.

"Don't want you to say that again do you hear me young man, that's bad language. The word bugger is a grown up word."

"Okay mum." Bruce shrugged and went back to colouring. Evelyn was already starting to get to her feet.

"Was that you? Did you teach him that?" Martha turned her steely gaze to Evelyn who was still trying not to laugh. Evelyn held her hands up in a gesture of innocence.

"Maybe it was the butler?" Evelyn replied dodging a shoe that Martha had thrown her way.

"I know damn well it wasn't bloody Alfred!"

"Bloody fly!" Bruce said swatting the air again. Evelyn cackled loudly.

"Martha! Really, teaching Bruce such bad language." Thomas had descended into laughter too as Evelyn spoke. Martha was trying desperately to force back her own smile as she lobbed another shoe at Evelyn.

Alfred paused in the kitchen to see Martha chasing Evelyn with a slipper. Evelyn was in good spirits considering her ordeal the night before. It showed a strength of character Alfred liked, especially in a woman

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A/N; Enjoy it? Think I should do more? Want to see the story progress? Please review :)


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